Playing with Boys, Alisa ValdesRodriguez
Playing with Boys, Alisa ValdesRodriguez
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Playing with Boys
A Novel

Author: Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

Narrator: Mara Holguin, Ingrid Oliu

Abridged: 5 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/01/2004


Synopsis

From the author of The Dirty Girls Social Club comes another fast, funny, soulful, and sexy novel about friendship and love amid Latinas.

It's a jungle out there -- in Los Angeles, that is, where the tangle of freeways and ingrained insincerity can make a girl feel very alone, no matter how fabulous the weather or how cute the clothes at the South Coast Plaza mall. With very different styles and attitudes, Marcella, Olivia, and Alexis are trying to crack the code in L.A, trying to snare love and success. But first they have to come together—to make their marks and plan the fun they're going to have along the way.

Marcella is a hot, sharp young television actress who's barely able to enjoy the life she's bought for herself and certainly isn't enjoying her body, which is never quite perfect enough. Olivia, whose life revolves around her toddler son, Jack, is tethered to her suburban mommy track so tightly she can almost forget the horrible thing that happened to her family when she was a child herself. Alexis is a musicians' manager with a smart mouth, an ample body, and loads of style but barely enough self-esteem to fill a Prada card case. And the boys in their lives? Marcella's had about enough of them throwing themselves at her; Olivia's boy is her son; and Alexis is still searching, not for a boy this time, but for a man.

Playing with Boys is a savvy novel with charm, style, and heart to spare.

About Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist and a former staff writer for both the Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe. With more than one million books in print in eleven languages, she was included on Time magazine’s list of "25 Most Influential Hispanics," and was a Latina magazine Woman of the Year as well as an Entertainment Weekly Breakout Literary Star. She is the author of many novels, including Playing with Boys and The Husband Habit. Alisa divides her time between New Mexico and Los Angeles.

About Mara Holguin

Mara Holguin has played roles in the films Felon, Swing Vote, and Dropping Out.  She also produced and starred in the film Questions & Answers.  On television, she's appeared in Chicago Hope, Law & Order, The Single Guy, and Ellen.  Her stage work includes appearances in Fighting Gravity, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Geeks in Paradise, and A Lie of the Mind.  Mara co-narrated Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez's Playing with Boys from Macmillan Audio.  She received a B.A. from Southern Methodist University and has trained at the Ruskin School of Acting in Santa Monica, California.

About Ingrid Oliu

Ingrid Oliu has done extensive television work including appearances on ER, The Shield, CSI, Weeds, and lending her voice to the animated series Batman.  Ingrid co-narrated Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez's Playing with Boys, published by Macmillan Audio.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Loraine on August 18, 2014

A contemporary cinderella story about 4 very different latina women. I almost stopped reading within the first chapter because it opened with the girl who is a Christian Republican Texan debutant, but I'm glad I was open-minded enough to push through. Thankfully, the following chapter countered her......more

Goodreads review by CrystalIsReading on Storygraph on October 01, 2007

This is the novel that introduced me to Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez and got me hooked on her chick-lit with a Hispanic twist books. Don't assume I'm prejudiced for pointing out the ethnicity either, as she makes it abundantly clear throughout the books that she is attempting to represent Hispanic culture......more

Goodreads review by Karla on August 04, 2007

Loved it as much as I love to play with boys!......more

Goodreads review by Victoria on September 22, 2007

Very fun! I could not put it down!!!!!!!......more

Goodreads review by Veronica on March 30, 2018

This book had me laughing tears of joy. The three characters are total opposites that come to together as business associates and then become good friends. The book wa honest about the relationships that the women had with each other, and with the men in their lives.......more


Quotes

“Three very different Latina women vow to bring Los Angeles to its collective knees in this funny, guilty pleasure of a novel . . . [A] heartfelt piece of escapism.” —Publishers Weekly

"Playing with Boys is a testament to the powers of women wrapped up in a pretty Cinderella story times three.” —Albuquerque Journal

“A beach read that . . . might make you giggle and blush.” —Chicago Sun-Times

“As Marcella, Alexis, and Olivia grapple with men and their careers, they really don't seem all that different from Bridget Jones herself.” —Miami Herald

“The three amigas--a television actress, a single mother, and a manager of musicians--each has her own distinct lifestyle, quirks, and notions of romance, yet each manages to help her friends find balance, along with loads of good times.” —Sacramento Bee

“If you're looking for a great beach listen, The Dirty Girls Social Club is just what the audio doctor ordered.” —Bookpage

“The personalities are sparkling fresh...Valdes-Rodriguez offers a spirited reading...highly recommended.” —Kliatt

“[Valdes-Rodriguez] speaks in the accent and personality of each character and is completely convincing. [She] is not only someone to watch, but someone to hear.” —Memphis Commercial Appeal